As much of the world faces social isolation due to the deadly coronavirus, an architectural firm may have envisaged the ultimate quarantine spot.

Paris-based XTU have designed incredible concept cities which tower above disused oil rigs in a future without the need for the fuel.

Mock-ups of the offshore metropolises show people would live in bubble-like houses stacked on top of each other, while surrounded by vegetation and wind turbines.

One idea sees five oil rigs joined up together, with a narrow bridge linking the heavily-forested islands that have accommodation below the soil.

Some of the cities even feature small waterfalls which cascade down from an unknown source, through the buildings and into the sea.

The project, titled x_lands, imagines the offshore rigs transformed into habitable platforms for a world after the oil age.

XTU said: 'We felt it is time to think after the oil age. For millions of years, nature has stored beneath the earth's surface, including CO2 in the form of petroleum. For more than 100 years, humans have been extracting this resource for their needs.